Memorabilia
by TenaciousDragoness
Summary: S2Klaine: In such a short amount of time, Blaine had come to mean a lot. Kurt wanted a picture of him. He wanted to pull out his Polaroid, and take some pictures, and he came close to. But he held back from doing so. What if Blaine thought that was creepy? It sure seemed creepy.


A/N: This is a story I wrote quite a while ago. I think it was during Season 2. Anyway, I found this story on my computer, and I thought that I'd share it. Hope you all enjoy! :)

* * *

**Memorabilia**

Kurt Hummel was always one for scrap booking. He'd take pictures of his father, his mother, and his friends, put them in an album, and decorate it until his heart was content. In high school, he had taken it to another level by embellishing the inside of his locker. In the beginning, it was more for fun. It was what everybody did, after all. And Kurt did indulge in following the latest trends. But eventually, it became much more than that when the bullying got bad. Those pictures served as reminders that he wasn't alone. That he had people who cared, and loved him.

Then those reminders became empty, and forgotten as the bullying escalated. Kurt felt alone, seeing everyone pair up, and walk down the halls holding hands without being judged. He truly felt like a pariah in a group of pariahs because of his sexuality. He had always been singled out because of that, and no one understood how it felt to be taunted for it. Worst of all, no one understood how it felt to give up all hope on finding love. He was the only gay person at his school, and that made him feel like he was the only gay guy in the world.

Who would've thought that that all changed just because of one crude remark about Dalton Academy?

Blaine Anderson. He had hazel eyes that were enthralling. He had naturally curly brown hair that was gelled down and parted to the right in a gorgeous, sophisticated way. His voice was deep, but it possessed a mellow factor that had the power to sap the energy out of Kurt's legs. Then there were his hands. They were calloused, and cold most of the time. But that mattered not to Kurt. Whenever those hands touched him in small gestures whether that be a playful hit or shove or touch on his shoulders or hand, Kurt was comforted.

Once they became more acquainted, Kurt couldn't believe it. He had finally met someone like him, who shared the same interests and values as him. That filled his world with more meaning, and that made him happy. He didn't feel so alone anymore.

In such a short amount of time, Blaine had come to mean a lot. Kurt wanted a picture of him. He wanted to pull out his Polaroid, and take some pictures, and he came close to. But he held back from doing so. What if Blaine thought that was creepy? It sure seemed creepy.

So Kurt trashed the idea of having his picture for a while. That was until he saw Blaine's dorm room, which became an occasional escape from Lima, Ohio. Kurt remembered seeing everything all organized, and cleanly, and how Blaine had some posters of Katy Perry, Pink, and Destiny's Child on the wall. _"I would've put up more, but I took up enough space as it is. Besides, I think Wes wants to use his side of the wall as a shrine to his girlfriend." _Blaine teased to which Wes was not amused in the slightest. He just muttered _showoff, _and left the room to go to the study hall.

Once Kurt saw the school photos of Blaine on his desk, he changed his mind. He picked up the photo, and analyzed it. "You look really handsome here." Kurt complimented before he even realized it. In turn, he blushed. "Not like you don't look handsome in person because you look handsome in person too." He was blabbing at the mouth, and it was embarrassing.

Blaine chuckled. It was the kind of laugh that had Kurt's stomach in knots. It was full of warmth, and acceptance, and kindness. "Why, thank you." He said as he ambled to Kurt's side. All the while, Kurt was hoping that he wasn't being too obvious.

Suddenly, his lips were dry, and Kurt cursed his body for betraying him like that. He licked at his lips, both wishing that he hadn't and wondering what Blaine thought of the action. But then, he mentally scolded himself for thinking that. Blaine was too calm to be thinking along the same lines as him. "Um, this might be weird to ask…"

"What is it?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me. What were you going to ask?"

"Uh, ok…I was just wondering if you had any copies of this picture."

"Oh, yeah, I got plenty. Why? Do you want one?"

Kurt's ears heated up as he stared at the flawless boy before him. Here he thought that Blaine was going to push him away, and call him a stalker for asking for his picture. Instead, Blaine was so casual about it, and that took his breath away.

"Yes, if that's all right."

"Why wouldn't it be? Here."

Kurt took the photo, and felt a dopey grin cross his face. "Thank you." He beamed at Blaine.

"No problem." Blaine smiled back.

When Kurt had gotten home, he immediately dedicated a page of his scrapbook to Blaine, using an assortment of ribbons, beads, and glittered words to compliment the picture. He clapped his hands when he was finished, feeling accomplished for doing the photograph such justice.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Kurt jumped in his seat, and turned to see that Finn was at the door. He cursed himself for leaving it open.

"Hey," Finn smiled. "What's up?"

"Uh, nothing." Kurt stashed the scrapbook in the nearest drawer. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me with some of my homework." Finn came in carrying his schoolbag.

"And by some, you mean all of it." Kurt responded, smiling.

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I don't even understand half the things that are being said." Kurt gave him a pointed look there. "OK, more than half. It's just that you're so good at all of this, and you know how to explain everything without making me confused."

"That's because you actually listen to me, which I appreciate, but it wouldn't kill you to pay attention during class instead of fantasizing about football and boobies and cheerleader's miniskirts."

"Whoa, man, that's creepy. How did you know that?"

"Finn, you're a hormonal teenage boy. It's not exactly a mystery."

"Oh, I guess you're right."

Kurt got up, and fetched a chair from the other room. He put it beside his chair, and gestured for Finn to sit down. Kurt sat down after him, and began working him through math equations, history questions, Spanish, English questions, all of the homework that only took him a half hour to complete on his own. With Finn, it had to take twice as long, not like he minded. He was willing to help a brother in need.

When it was all done, Finn sighed in relief. Kurt could tell that the pressures of football and the popularity that came with it were taking a toll on him. Kurt understood that they often diverted Finn's attention from time to time. "Thanks a lot, Kurt. I really appreciate it." Finn smiled, patting him on the arm, affectionately.

"It was my pleasure to assist you, Finn. Just try better to pay more attention in class next time, all right? I can't be there all of the time to help you with your homework."

"Yeah, yeah."

Finn walked out of the room. Kurt sighed, exasperated. He knew that Finn wouldn't listen, and just continue ignoring lessons at school. Then he'd come crying to Kurt about not understanding this and that, and Kurt would help him once more. Honestly. He was just too nice sometimes.

His cell phone beeped, indicating that he received a text message. Kurt pulled it out of his bag, and read it. _Hey, what are you up to? -Blaine_

Instantly, Kurt smiled, and eagerly replied. _Nothing really. Just finished helping Finn with his homework. How about you? -Kurt_

_I'm trying to do homework, but I suck so much at Italian you have no idea. -Blaine_

Kurt laughed. Blaine was good at everything, but learning a foreign language. _I wish I can help, but I take French. Sorry. -Kurt_

_It's not your fault that I'm so culturally inept. I appreciate your sympathy, though. -Blaine_

_I wouldn't call it being culturally inept so much as bilingually challenged. -Kurt_

_Like that's much better. How do you do it, Kurt? You speak French so well, it's like you were raised there. -Blaine_

_Long story short, I thought Madeline was real, and wanted to visit her in France one day, so I taught myself French. -Kurt_

_Are you serious? Or was that a joke? I can't tell when I can't see you or hear your voice. -Blaine_

_Of course, I'm joking, Blaine. Well, about everything other than self-teaching myself French. -Kurt_

_You self taught yourself French? Oh, my God, you think you know a guy. Are there any other amazing secrets that you're hiding from me? -Blaine_

Kurt flushed. The fact that he impressed Blaine made his heart soar. _I guess you'll have to stick around and find out. But for now, I suggest you get back to your work. The longer you slack off, the harder it'll be for you to finish it. -Kurt_

_Well, aren't we being a bit bossy? ;P Fine, I'll get back to it. Have a good night. See you tomorrow. -Blaine_

_Good night. -Kurt_

With that, Kurt put his phone away. He mind raced. Was Blaine flirting with him by any chance? No, friends did that all the time. They teased one another, and sent pictures of winking smileys. This was no different than that, though Kurt was hoping it was more than that. That was because Blaine was more than a friend. To Kurt, anyway. There was no telling how Blaine felt, though Kurt doubted that the boy felt anything other than friendship towards him. He sighed. Kurt couldn't forget what happened last year with Finn, and how much of a freak his crush made him become. He promised himself that he wouldn't do a repeat performance of that.

Kurt opened the drawer he put his scrapbook in, and took it out, flipping to the page with Blaine on it. With a finger, he traced the outline of Blaine's face, sighing. If only he could be his.

* * *

The next day, they were assigned to do a project in Government class. They were to pair up in groups, and come up with a controversial topic to assess an opinion on, whether they agree on it or not. They decided to brainstorm some ideas at The Lima Bean.

Kurt didn't get his usual nonfat mocha latte. Instead he got a medium drip. It was what Blaine usually got, and he was curious to know how it tasted. But overall, he wanted Blaine to get the hint, and give him some sort of sign. Whether or not Blaine noticed, Kurt couldn't tell. They just paid for their coffee, and sat down near the window.

"OK, so we need to decide what to do our project on." Blaine stated, obviously.

"Right, um…It does have to be something that we're passionate about." Kurt replied, giving it some thought. "Though, I'd have to say that Prop 18, Gay Rights, and Gay Marriage is a bit too predictable for us."

Blaine smiled. "That's true. There are other things going on in the world other than our problems."

"So Gay Anything is ruled out." Kurt took a sip of his medium drip. He hummed his approval. It tasted good.

"How about this?" Blaine put down his coffee as an idea dawned on him. A bright smile crossed his face, and Kurt was so caught up in the energy that he smiled too. But he hid it mostly behind his coffee cup. By now, he had made it a point to not be so obvious, though he knew that his eyes were giving him away. "We can do a project against Animal Abuse."

Kurt frowned. Animal abuse? This might sound cruel to someone, but Kurt wasn't one for the animals. Sure, he had Pavarotti, but that was a coerced coincidence, not like he didn't enjoy the bird's company. He did. It was fun to sing some tunes with him, and talk to him, even though Kurt felt kind of like a fool for speaking to an animal that clearly couldn't talk.

Blaine laughed. "I'll take that as a no."

"How about this: we do it on the availability of condoms at school."

"Why that?"

"Because it's kind of like encouraging them to you know…"

"I think that it's good that condoms are available. I mean, I don't use them, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"If that's the case, why don't they just not…do it?"

"…Why are you getting so upset about this?"

"Never mind, it's clearly not a good idea."

"OK, then…that cancels that option out." Blaine looked away, and gulped down his coffee. Kurt could tell that he made him uncomfortable. He knew that he felt uncomfortable. Kurt assumed that Blaine would share the same opinion that he did on the availability of condoms at school. It was wrong, like the school was promoting sex instead of abstinence, which was the safer option.

They drowned in an uncomfortable silence. It wasn't like them to disagree. Usually, they shared the same views. So hanging out was easy, and fun. It was like this disagreement sucked the fun out of the air.

Kurt had to make this awkward silence go away. Then an idea hit him. "I got it. How about the roles of men and women in society?" He asked. Equality was a subject that they can agree with.

That smile appeared on Blaine's face again, and Kurt was happy to be the cause. "That's an excellent idea, Kurt. We'll have to get started after school." He got up. They proceeded to throw out their empty coffee bottles. "I'll see you there." They had parked next to one another. Blaine was on the opposite side of his car with that charming smile on his face. Kurt returned it, and nodded, entering his car.

* * *

The day went on as usual. Kurt sat down in class, took notes, occasionally raising his hand to answer questions that he knew the answer to. The boys here were nice to him, unlike the ones at McKinley, though Kurt still felt out of place.

That really made him wonder sometimes. His life at Dalton was secure. There was no one there that taunted him or threatened him with violence. It was placid. Not a single person shouted out obscenities in the middle of class or misbehaved. He should want to be here more, but his heart belonged to McKinley.

After school, they headed back to Kurt's place. Kurt made ascertain to inform his father of his beforehand as to avoid another lecture about being inappropriate. He didn't want his father to think any less of him like that. As much as he wanted to, Kurt refused to act on his impulses just like Finn, and Puck, and everybody else did. He restrained himself. It was the best way to avoid getting hurt.

Kurt allowed Blaine to sit on the swerving chair in front of his desk while he took the bench in front of his vanity. They had their notebooks out, and they were writing down the pro reasons for equality. They had to prepare some counterarguments to the ones that the teacher were going to have.

"All right," Blaine twirled his pen in his fingers. "Mr. Dwaine is bound to say something like the women should be there for their children, but I'm not sure if I should include a personal reason against that or a factual one." He squinted down at his notebook, unsure.

Kurt leaned forward, slouching a bit, but he didn't care. He was curious as to what Blaine meant by personal reason. "Well, I think a personal reason would be more trenchant. It's firsthand experience, you know? And I think it's better than just stating cold, hard facts. Personal experience is more relatable in comparison."

"That's true." Blaine still sounded unsure, and he looked uncomfortable.

Kurt slid the bench closer to Blaine, urging him to look up with his eyes. "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but what do you mean by personal experience?" He couldn't help but wonder. They talked about a lot of things, but one of the things that Blaine neglected to talk about were his parents. And Kurt was sure that that was where their conversation was headed.

Blaine huffed. "My mom…she's a concert pianist so she tended to go out on tour a lot. She still does. As for my dad, he stays at home, constantly working on novels. He's a romance novelist. A good one, I'll give him that. But he always had a problem with my being gay, though he didn't yell at me or anything about it. He just swept it under the carpet like I never told him, and finds some kind of way of trying to convert me to being straight whether that be working on cars or watching a football game together, which I never minded because I love football. As you already know…" He gave a breathy laugh, his eyes looking everywhere but at Kurt. Blaine put a hand on his face. "Sorry. We're supposed to be doing a project, and here I am blabbing on about my parents."

Kurt shook his head. "No, don't apologize. We could talk about it if you want to."

"I never told anyone this. You're the only one I've ever told." Blaine looked at him then with this warm smile that made his heart melt. It made him special to know that he was the only one Blaine has ever shared this information with.

"Oh," was the only thing Kurt could think of saying.

Blaine sighed. He looked down, his lips pursed together in a questioning frown. After a moment, he looked up at Kurt. "I think it's only right that I tell you. You're my best friend, Kurt, and you were trusting enough to confide in me."

"Yeah, but I don't want you to feel obligated to share anything that you're not willing to share." Kurt objected. He wanted to know more about Blaine, but he didn't want Blaine to feel pressured into telling him anything. Kurt knew that there were some things that he'd rather not share with Blaine; like how he had this immense crush on him, which was bound to send Blaine running for the hills.

"I'm willing." Blaine responded. "Um," he put his hand to the back of his head. Kurt was caught off guard because he never really saw this side of Blaine before. Blaine was usually so confident, and full of smiles. It made him wonder if Blaine had anyone he could confide in like this. Kurt knew that Wes and David were his friends, but they weren't that close. Not as close as Kurt and Blaine. "Where should I begin?" Blaine gave a nervous snicker.

"Wherever you want."

"OK, well, uh," Blaine licked his lips, and Kurt couldn't help but stare. A wave of heat passed through him. "When I was little, my parents and I were real close. We used to go to the park together, and go on picnics where my dad would make these tasty sandwiches. We'd all toss the football around, and walk down the trails, and all of that. It was a lot of fun, but we stopped going at one point. My mother's career was at it's peak, and she was away a lot on tours. I remember missing her a lot, and crying when she was away. My dad…he…it was like he became a different person whenever I cried. He told me to suck it up, and that men never cried so I…" He began to tear up, and he sniffed, bringing a hand up to his face. Blaine looked away from Kurt.

Kurt took a hold of Blaine's hand. It was hard, and calloused, much like the life he described having at home. Sure, his father didn't scream, but it mattered to Blaine. Kurt was lucky enough to have a father who actually accepted him. Blaine didn't have that luxury, and that made Kurt angry and sad. Blaine deserved so much more than that. Kurt wanted to convey what he was feeling into words. All he was able to say was this. "There, there. Let it out. It's ok to cry." He soothed. "It's ok to cry."

Blaine wiped his face. In turn, Kurt got up to retrieve some tissues from his vanity. He held out the box of Kleenex to Blaine, who gave him a watery smile that broke his heart. "Thank you." Blaine sobbed. He took the tissue, and blew into it, loudly. After giving his face more of a wipe-down, Blaine clutched the used tissue in his hand. "I know that I shouldn't care this much because I'm used to it, but…"

Kurt tightened his grip on Blaine's hand. "He's your father, Blaine. You care because you want his acceptance. That's what every person wants, I think, acceptance from their parents."

Kurt knew that his understanding words didn't do anything for Blaine. He still looked distraught. Kurt couldn't blame him, though. He knew how it felt to fear that his father disapproved of him. That had resulted in Kurt going out with Brittany, and dressing in clothes that he wouldn't be caught dead in.

"I wish I could be more of a comfort." Kurt confessed. He could say all of the comforting words he wanted, but that wouldn't change the situation.

"No, no." Blaine replied, wiping at his eyes again. "You are. It feels good to have said that. It's like I feel lighter somehow." He took another breath before he continued on with his story. "So, anyway, we don't talk much anymore, and whenever we do it's awkward and forced. It's a bit smoother whenever mom comes home, but sometimes they argue over me, and it gets to me sometimes. Like, it makes me think that their lives would be better without me around."

"No," Kurt responded. "Don't you ever think that. That's my best friend you're talking about." Blaine meant so much to him that it physically hurt him to hear Blaine say such a thing about himself.

A small smile spread across Blaine's face. He stared at Kurt for a while as if he wanted to say something. However, after a moment, he pulled his hand out of Kurt's grasp, and blew his nose again. He proceeded to dispose of his used tissue before sitting on the chair again. "So, uh, we should continue." Blaine said, breaking the weird silence that surrounded them. He wrote down what Kurt suspected was the reasons he already listed out for the equality of men and women.

They listed down some more ideas before Blaine had to go. It was because of Dalton's curfew, which was at ten-thirty. At the moment, it was nearing eight. Blaine got his bag, which was set up against Kurt's desk. He slowly stood up straight, and grabbed something on his desk. Kurt froze. That something was his scrapbook. "Cool, I didn't know you liked to scrapbook." Blaine smiled. "Do you mind if I look through it?"

Kurt's blood pressure picked up. There was a whole page in there that was a dead-giveaway, but then again, Blaine wasn't good at Italian, which in turn meant that he knew next to nothing about French. There wasn't any harm in it. Besides, Kurt couldn't find it in himself to deny Blaine anything. "Yes, no, I mean, you could. Look through it, that is." Kurt answered, cursing himself for stuttering. It was embarrassing, but Blaine didn't seem to care. He just flipped through the pages, his face lighting up.

"I'm impressed." Blaine murmured. "All of this is amazing, Kurt."

"Thank you." Kurt blushed. No one, not even Mercedes, had set eyes on his scrapbook. It was nice to get praise for it by someone other than himself.

"Aw, even I get a page?" Blaine smiled at Kurt; this bright smile that Kurt was sure could illuminate a dark room. Kurt only smiled in return. Blaine looked back at the page, and his face scrunched up in confusion. "Um, what does le plus cher mean?"

The first thought that came to Kurt's mind was to tell him. But he couldn't. He wasn't going to put himself through this again. Kurt refused to think that it was possible because it wasn't. There was no way Blaine could like Kurt like that. "It's le plus cher." Kurt corrected the way Blaine said it. "And what it means is…" Blaine stared at him, waiting for the answer. "It means best friend." He lied.

"Oh." Kurt could've imagined it, but Blaine looked a bit disappointed. Then he set the book back down on the desk, put his bag over his shoulder, and embraced Kurt. This surprised Kurt. Blaine was touchy-feely, but this was the first time they've ever hugged. "You'll always be by my side, right?" He asked, his voice wavering.

"Of course." Kurt replied.

With that, Kurt walked him to the door, and they bid one another good night.

He went back up to his room, closed the door, and looked at Blaine's page again. Kurt wondered what that hug was about, but he shook his head. That was just how Blaine was. He was more of an intimate person than he was.

_Do you ever think_

_When you're all alone_

_All that we could be?_

_Where this thing could go?_

_Am I crazy or falling in love?_

_Is it real or just another crush?_

_Do you catch a breath_

_When I look at you?_

_Are you holding backLike the way I do?_

_'Cause I'm trying, trying to walk away_

_But I know this crush ain't going_

_Away_

_Going away_

As he sung those lines from David Archuleta's _Crush_, Kurt traced his pointer over the page of the book. He sighed as the chorus ended, and he closed the book.

* * *

The next day, Kurt rose early at five. This was so that he had enough time to do his moisturizing routine, get dressed, and get to Dalton just in time for breakfast. Carole was up too because she had the morning shift at her job as a receptionist. She was dressed up in dark blue scrubs that were as unflattering on her as it was on everyone else.

"Good morning, honey." Carole greeted. "Do you want me to make you anything?"

"I'm gonna have some breakfast at Dalton, but thank you for the offer, Carole." Kurt replied.

"You're welcome." Carole rubbed at his arm. "Have a good day, ok? And tell Blaine that I said hello." She winked, leaning in to give him a kiss on the head. Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why did everyone think that they were some kind of item? Was he really that obvious? But if he was, wouldn't Blaine have picked up on the hints by now? Maybe Blaine did, and he chose to ignore them. "Kurt? Are you all right? Should I get the thermometer?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm all right. Just a tad bit tired."

"Oh, do you want me to drop you off?"

"Oh, no, no, no. I couldn't ask you to go out of your way like that."

"It's all right. I don't have to be in until ten. The only reason I couldn't get back to sleep was because of your father's snoring."

"I think I could drive." Kurt yawned.

"Oh, nonsense, you look like you're about to fall asleep right where you stand." Carole grabbed the keys. "I'm taking you." She insisted.

They got into the car. Carole, with Kurt's consent, stopped by a diner. They parked, and went inside, getting shown to their seats, and reading aloud to the waitress what they wanted. "I really appreciate this, Carole." Kurt told her, grateful.

"Don't mention it. You know I'd do anything for you, Kurt. All you have to do is ask." Carole replied. "So what have you been up to?"

"Blaine and I have this project to do for Government. It's on controversial topics. Mr. Dwaine said we could pick our own topic, and provide a list of reasons why we either support the topic or not."

"That sounds interesting. What are you two doing it on?"

"Equality between men and women. We're pro, obviously. Yesterday, we were starting to list out the reasons when Blaine wondered if it'd be wise to include a personal reason. I prodded, and he told me about his parents. He's never really mentioned them before, and I could see why. His dad doesn't accept him being gay, and his mother isn't around enough to really be there for him." Kurt sighed, twirling his drink with a straw. "I can't imagine how horrible that must be for him."

"You really care about Blaine." Carole stated. She was onto him. Kurt knew that she wanted nothing more than for him to admit that he had feelings for Blaine.

"As a friend." Kurt finished, emphasizing the word friend.

"Kurt," Carole began. "I know how it feels to have my feelings hurt, to not have my feelings reciprocated." Kurt knew that she was referring to last year when he had that ridiculous crush on Finn. "And to just carelessly toss away a fresh carton of milk." Kurt blinked here. "What I'm trying to say, Kurt, is that I don't want one bad experience to shut you off to others that have more potential."

"You think we have potential?" Kurt asked, his hope mounting.

"Of course, I do. You two certainly enjoy each other's company, and he comes over so much that I feel like I should be letting him sleep in the guest room."

"I don't know."

"Do whatever your heart deems right, Kurt."

After the breakfast, they were on the road again. Once they arrived at Dalton, Kurt saw that Blaine was waiting for him in the front. Every day, Blaine did wait up for him. It got him every time he saw Blaine light up, and walk up to him.

Carole rolled down the window.

"Hello, Mrs. Hummel. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. How about you?"

"I'm good, thank you."

"That's good to hear. Listen, you're welcome to come over, and stay the night anytime you want."

Kurt had gotten out of the car at that point. He saw how caught off guard Blaine was by the offer. "Um, thank you."

Carole smiled at him, and then at Kurt. "I'll see you two later, I'm sure." The she drove away.

Kurt and Blaine headed into the building. "What did she mean by I could stay the night?" Blaine wondered, his face scrunched up.

Something inside of Kurt jumped. "We went out for breakfast, and we were talking about how often you come over." He elaborated.

"And?" Blaine asked, knowing that there was more to the story than that.

Kurt felt like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He sighed, and looked ahead.

"You told her, didn't you?" Blaine asked. He had an edge to his voice that made Kurt stiffen. "You told her about my family."

Kurt huffed. "It just…came up."

"Oh, really?" Blaine asked, angrily.

"Look, Blaine, I don't understand why you're getting so mad about this."

"Then allow me to enlighten you. My family is none of her business. I told you in strict confidence because I knew that I could trust you, and lean on you."

"What do you think she's going to do; go around and tell everybody about you? Carole is not that kind of person."

"No, but I know that you can be."

"Excuse me?"

"After you told Carole, I'm sure you were gonna mouth off the Mercedes, and Rachel, and everybody else, so that they can all look at me like I'm some poor, pitiful boy."

"…Even if I did tell them, they wouldn't ever pity you, Blaine. They like you."

"Yeah, whatever. I gotta get to class." Blaine stormed off, leaving Kurt angry and incredulous. How could Blaine think so poorly of him like that? Or his friends, for that matter? He wasn't afraid to admit to himself that he probably would've told them about Blaine's situation since said boy always found some kind of way into their conversations. But it was best to keep his mouth shut, especially after Blaine's reaction to him telling Carole.

A day at Dalton was usually tranquil, but that day wasn't. Paying attention was hard to do what with the turbulence in his heart. His anger subsided as time passed by. Kurt began to realize that he had no business telling anyone about Blaine's family. That was his business to tell. And he had decided to tell Kurt, who felt angry with himself. Why did he have to go on a tangent about Blaine like he had?

As soon as the tedious day ended, Kurt sought Blaine out. "Um, hi, excuse me?" He asked one of his classmates, who gave him his full attention. "Have you seen Blaine around?"

"Uh, yeah, I saw him leave a little while ago. He looked real steamed over something."

"OK, thank you."

Blaine had to be at the Lima Bean. Typically, they'd go together, but today Blaine refused to wait up for him. Kurt stalked out of Dalton, spitting fire. He understood that Blaine was furious, and he had every right to be, but ignoring the problem wasn't going to make it go away. So Kurt got into his car, and drove to the Lima Bean.

Once he got there, Kurt slowed down his pace as he gazed into the window. He saw Blaine sitting down with another guy - an older guy with hideously styled blonde hair. Kurt felt queasy when he saw the guy place a hand on Blaine's.

Was that his boyfriend? It sure looked like it, judging how comfortable they were around one another.

Kurt couldn't take it. In there, the boy he liked was with another. Tears welled up in Kurt's eyes. He couldn't go in there. He didn't want to hear Blaine introduce his boyfriend. So Kurt got back into his car, and drove home. He was sobbing, and sniffing the whole way back.

When he got inside, he rushed upstairs, ignoring Carole's calls. He ignored Finn's greeting, and hurried into his room, shutting the door, and going to his desk. He opened his scrapbook to the page that was dedicated to Blaine. A shaky hand held the side of the page. Kurt wanted to rip it up, and throw it in the trash, but he couldn't find it in himself to act upon the action.

A tentative knock stopped him. "Kurt?" Carole asked, her voice worried.

Quickly, Kurt shut the scrapbook, and hid it in the drawer. He wiped at his eyes.

"Sweetie? It's Carole. Please open up." Carole implored.

"It's unlocked." Kurt responded.

A hand graced his shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Kurt sobbed, and held onto her hand. "It happened again." He whispered, and began to cry once more.

"Oh, Kurt." Carole murmured because she understood what Kurt meant. Another boy he liked was with someone else. Kurt was right all along. He wasn't built to be with anybody. She took him into her arms, and held him as he sobbed some more.

A little while later, Finn knocked on the door. Carole and Kurt disengaged to see Finn standing at the door with a glass of warm milk. "I thought that you'd like some." Finn said, softly, making Kurt break out into a smile. He walked into the room, and handed the milk to Kurt, who thanked him.

Every cloud had a sliver lining indeed.

* * *

"It's like City Streets were made just for you." Kurt complimented, seeing Mercedes come out of the dressing room in blue jeans that were powdered in several places. "And you always look good in purple."

Mercedes smiled, a blush appearing on her face. "Thank you. I really like it, too, but it sucks because I really liked the other outfit too. But I only have enough for one."

Kurt's eyes widened in empathy. As a fellow fashionista, he was caught in these unpleasant situations from time to time where he had to choose one fabulous outfit over another, which was just like deciding whether he wanted to get a Whitney Houston CD or a Barbra Streisand CD. It felt shameful to pick one over the other. "That is quite a dilemma. Let's see…" He cupped his chin in thought. "Perhaps an ennie meenie minni mo is in order here."

Mercedes shrugged, and huffed. Kurt could empathize with her frustration. "I guess I'll have to." She went back inside the dressing room, and came out in the same outfit. "Now let's go pick out some outfits for you."

"No, that's quite all right. I'm not in the mood for shopping today." Kurt replied.

Mercedes' eyebrows raised, and she gaped in shock. "You? Not in the mood for shopping? All right, hold up." She held a hand up at him. "You're either sick or something is totally wrong here because the Kurt Hummel I know would've been jumping at the racks already."

"I'm fine, Mercedes." Kurt lied. He really didn't want to get into it.

"Kurt." Mercedes held the clothes over one arm while she put her free hand on her waist. She fixed him with a look that he could see without even looking at it.

"All right." There was no use getting anything past Mercedes. She was insightful, and she could tell whenever he was lying to her. "Blaine and I got into a little tiff the other day, and he's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since."

"What are you fighting about?" Mercedes inquired.

"I won't go into specifics in respect of Blaine. All I can tell you is that he told me about a sore spot of his, I told Carole, he found out, and he got all ticked off about it." Kurt answered, huffing as they took their place in line.

"I could see why he got upset, seeing as how it's a sore topic."

"I could see that too."

"So what? Have you even tried calling him?"

"…No."

"And why's that? You do want to make up with him, don't you?"

Kurt kept silent. Just the thought of Blaine with that boy was breaking his heart.

"Or is there something else going on here that you're not telling me about?"

Kurt sighed. "I was going to make up with him. I drove all the way to the Lima Bean to find him with some other boy."

"Oh, Kurt." Mercedes put a hand on his shoulder. "I could see why you think that other boy is Blaine's boyfriend, but how can you know for sure? Has Blaine ever mentioned there being another boy?"

"No, but he's never mentioned his parents either." Kurt pointed out.

"Look, all I'm saying is that there's no telling for sure unless you suck it up, and go talk to him. You don't want to lose him over some silly argument now do you?" Mercedes asked, some sass added in. Kurt smiled. No matter what, he knew that he had Mercedes to lean on, and tell to him like it was.

"You're right." Kurt put a hand on hers. "Thank you, Mercedes."

"You know I'll always be there for you, white boy." She beamed at him, fondly, and went to pay for her purchase.

Kurt thought back on when he told Blaine the same thing.

That was that. He was done with being scared of the answer. Who cared about that? He couldn't be so selfish. The point was that Blaine needed him, and Kurt needed him, whatever their relationship turned out to be that'd never change.

After Kurt dropped Mercedes off, he couldn't wait. He called Blaine's number. It went straight to voice mail. Kurt huffed for what seemed like the millionth time in the span of a few days. "Blaine, hi, it's Kurt. I was wondering if we could actually have a civil conversation about this. Please call me back." Then he pressed the end button.

When he got home, there was nobody there. Finn was at football practice. Carole was at work as was his father. That meant that he had to fend for himself for dinner. He had no problem doing so. He just couldn't stand the concept of being alone, fuming at the moment. Why wasn't Blaine calling him back? Was he really that angry about Kurt exploiting his privacy? But it wasn't that bad. And people called Kurt the drama queen.

He hissed, and winced. This wouldn't normally have happened because Kurt was usually more focused. But he cut his finger. All he could think of was how much it stung. He ran it under water, and winced. Afterwards, he proceeded to put his skills of first aid to use.

The phone rang, and Kurt jumped in surprise. He leaned against the counter with a hand to his pounding heart, and sighed. What if that was Blaine? What would he say? His mind raced with how to start off their conversation; whether he should get angry, or be more calm. Then he thought of how Blaine would've called his cell phone instead of his home phone. Then again, Blaine's cell phone went straight to voice mail. Perhaps his cell ran out of juice?

Whatever the case, Kurt gathered up all of his nerve, and answered the phone. "Hello, this is the Hummel-Hudson residence. Kurt Hummel speaking." He replied, formally.

Crying was heard on the other line.

"Hello?" Kurt asked again. "Listen, if this is some kind of crank call, it's not funny."

"Kurt?" That blubbering sounded a lot like -

"Rachel?" Kurt asked in disbelief. He clutched the phone in concern. "What's the matter?"

"Kurt! Oh, my God, Kurt! I'm so - so glad that…you picked up the phone…it's…"

"Rachel, you need to calm down, and tell me what's wrong."

"It's Finn. He was…tackled, and hurt, really bad. He's at the hospital."

"Which one?" Kurt asked with the utmost urgency. "OK, I'll be there in a little bit. Sit tight, all right?"

"Mm-hm."

Kurt hung up, and hurried around the house to get his shoes, his phone, and his keys. He hoped that this wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be or as bad as Rachel made it sound.

* * *

He met his parents as well as Rachel and her parents at the hospital. Rachel was hysterical crying just as she was on the phone. Carol and Burt were practically biting their nails in worry. And Rachel's dads were comforting and reassuring her. As soon as Rachel spotted him, she flung herself at Kurt. His eyes widened in surprise and he let out a gasp because she practically knocked him over.

She was blubbering all the possibilities of injuries; those being the worst-case scenario injuries. Kurt loved her and everything so he patted her back, biting back the urge to tell her to shut the hell up and just wait for the doctor to deliver the news of Finn's condition.

It seemed like Rachel cried out all of the water in her body when the doctor came. He led them all to the room that Finn was in. His leg was propped up, and he was leaning back against the pillow, looking rather annoyed. The side of his mouth lifted into a grin once he saw everyone walk in.

"Hey there, kiddo, how are you holding up?" Burt was the first to ask.

Finn shrugged, the remnant of his annoyance returning to his face. "As good as I can, I guess…" He replied.

Rachel ran up to his bedside and flung her arms around his chest. He recoiled by the recklessness of her action. "Oh, Finn! I was so worried!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Easy there, Rae-Rae." One of her fathers said.

Finn rubbed at her back. "I'm ok, Rachel. Not to sound mean or anything, but I'll have a steady recovery if you don't do that again."

Rachel let out a laugh. "OK, sorry."

"That's ok. I get it. You were worried, weren't you?" Finn asked, stroking her hair back.

"Yeah, I was." Rachel replied, and then they hugged again.

Kurt was standing in front of the bed, both relieved and annoyed that he had worried all for nothing. Nonetheless, he was glad that Finn was all right; that it wasn't a serious injury and that it only turned out to be a broken leg. "She was hysterical crying the whole time we were in the waiting room. I had to say that she almost got me crying, too." He looked at Finn, conveying his worry. He stayed calm for Rachel, but that didn't mean that he wasn't panicking on the inside.

Finn motioned for him to move to the other side of the bed, opposite of Rachel. He put a hand on Kurt's arm, and then ruffled his hair. In turn, Kurt stepped back, and glared. Just because he was in a hospital bed didn't give him the right to muss up his hair. Everyone laughed at the reaction, Finn's mirth proving to be more contagious than Kurt would've liked in this situation. However, he couldn't help but crack a smile himself.

Finn had stayed overnight, and was released the next day. Rachel had already taken the liberty of procuring Finn's schoolbag since she did know his combination. Given the amount of times she stood in front of his locker, Kurt wasn't surprised. She must've look at him spin that locker combination more than a dozen times.

That day, Rachel came home with them, and so did her dads. Kurt and Carole had prepared a feast for everybody, and the conversation around the table was consistent and full of laughter. Even Kurt was joining in, and adding his two cents. Then his phone rang.

The smile slipped off Kurt's face. It was Blaine.

"Kurt, buddy, what's the matter?" Burt asked, noticing that something was off with his son. In that instant, everybody turned their attention towards him. It was embarrassing to say the least. He was caught off guard, and he hadn't prepped himself for talking to Blaine yet. Now was as good as time as any, Kurt figured. It'd be better to get it all over and done with so that they could clear the air and move past the fog that put a halt in the direction of their friendship.

"I just gotta take this. Important phone call. Excuse me." Kurt left the table, and made his way outside. He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Kurt? It's me, Blaine."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I got your phone call, and I was wondering if we could met up tomorrow and talk this thing out."

"Sure, of course."

"All right…I would've just texted you, but I really miss the sound of your voice."

Kurt's heartbeat accelerated. "Same here." He all but breathed, hoping that he wasn't so obvious.

"Besides that, we have a project to work on, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do. It's due the day after tomorrow."

"We'll really need to work on that then. I hate to impose, but do you think that I could come over?"

"Of course, you can, Blaine. You're always welcome here. You know that."

"So I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night."

"Night."

Kurt smiled. Everything was right with the world.

* * *

The next day, Kurt ran into Blaine in the hallway. He smiled, and held up a hand. "Hey there, stranger."

What happened next surprised Kurt. Blaine's face scrunched up with tears. He marched up to Kurt, and threw his arms around him. Kurt recoiled back a few steps from the force brought on by this abrupt embrace. He patted Blaine's back, and then rubbed at it.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt. I was being dumb, and I was overreacting." Blaine apologized.

Some tears made it to the surface of Kurt's eyes. He didn't realize how much he missed Blaine until that moment. "No, no. I should be the one apologizing. You were right. It wasn't my business to tell anybody about your home life. So I'm really sorry."

"It's ok because I trust you. I trust that Carole hasn't told anybody like you said." They hugged it out some more. A few moments later, Blaine pulled away, and laughed a watery laugh, and wiped at his eyes.

Kurt pulled out some tissues from his Marc Jacobs bag. Blaine gave him an inquisitive look like he was going to ask why Kurt had tissues handy. "I always have emergency tissues on me just in case." Kurt explained.

"Ah," Blaine laughed, and took a tissue, and wiped, and blew his nose.

"So before we head back, let's stop and get some coffee. My treat." Kurt offered.

"Sounds good to me." Blaine smiled. As they walked out, he disposed the tissue into a receptacle.

They went out to coffee, and caught up, talking about light subjects like musical icons, fashion lines, and upcoming plays at the community theatre. Blaine was going to try out for another one, and Kurt had excitedly encouraged this. He was happy for Blaine; that he could be apart of such an art, and be proud of it. No matter how bad his home life was, Blaine's passion was something that they couldn't take away from him.

After coffee, they headed back to Kurt's house to work on their project. They were finishing up their reasons for pro-equality, branching it out to not only gays, but blacks as well as other ethnicities that deserved to also be in the head count. They were human, too, but at times such a simple reason was lost on those with narrow minds.

"This will be, without a doubt, the most fabulous board in the room." Blaine commented after they finished designing the board, Kurt taking the lead on design.

Kurt laughed at the compliment. "That's what I was aiming for." He replied, proudly regarding the board.

"Look, Kurt, can I tell you something?" Blaine asked. Kurt knew the underlining tone. That was that whatever Blaine was about to tell him was meant for his ears only.

"Of course you can." Kurt answered. He sat down on the bench in front of his vanity while Blaine sat down on his bed.

"All the time I was avoiding you, it really got me thinking." Blaine started. He was slumped over, twiddling his thumbs. He paused for a few seconds. Kurt couldn't help noticing the way Blaine chewed his lower lip, anxiously.

The silence seemed longer than it actually was. So Kurt decided to break it. "Go on." He prodded, softly.

"Right, right." Blaine closed his eyes, and nodded. "I was thinking…of how things used to be. With everything, really. I was closer with my parents than anyone else. I never really went out a lot, and I didn't have a lot of friends." He heaved a sigh. "What I'm trying to say is that, the time I spent without you, made me think of how much I really need to spend time with you, and that whenever I do…you just. We just smile and laugh and it got me thinking, 'wow, I must be worth something if I got someone like him to laugh'." Blaine laughed a bit out of nerves.

This made Kurt's heart flutter. A smile crossed his face. There was another silence that followed. A million thoughts ran through Kurt's head. He wanted to tell Blaine how he felt the same, and how strongly he felt, and how Blaine was always worth something. But all he said was, "You're strong, Blaine, really strong."

Blaine blinked. He appeared to be confused about the comment. "Strong?" He echoed. The way he said it expressed self-doubt. Kurt knew, in that moment, that Blaine didn't consider himself to be strong in any way. "How?"

"Well, for one, you sing the lead for the Warblers, and that's valor all in itself." Kurt replied, and Blaine laughed. He knew how nerve-raking it was to get up on stage, and perform being the center of attention. All pressure was on that soloist, and the possibility of screwing up was always present. "You're not afraid to be yourself around anyone, and if you are, you don't show it. You're always kind, and gracious, even when the other party doesn't deserve it, and that shows that you're the better person." Kurt inched the bench closer to the bed, and set his hand over Blaine's. "OK, I know this is a change of subject, but I really gotta say this. Your hand is like a caveman's." It was hairy, and rough, and Kurt couldn't imagine putting his hands through what Blaine put his through.

That got Blaine hysterically laughing.

Kurt grabbed a bottle of hand lotion, and held it out for Blaine to take. He held up his hands. "Oh, no, Kurt, I can't take your hand lotion."

"Take it." Kurt insisted. "Don't worry. I have five other bottles."

"Thank you." Blaine smiled.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed." Kurt quoted, jutting his pointer finger up in the air, matter-of-factly. This got Blaine laughing again. Kurt smiled. It made him feel good to make Blaine happy. And that in turn, made him happy too.

The next day, they presented their project. That had gotten them a round of applause by the students as well as the teacher. They were confident that they were going to get a good grade. Sure enough, once they got their grade back, they were practically jumping out of their seats in excitement. The teacher had announced their grades. Kurt was two rows away from Blaine, who sat up front, and they shared a celebratory smile at their one hundred.

"How about we go to the mall to celebrate?" Blaine asked after class.

"Oh, you know I can't resist any offer with the word mall in it." Kurt replied, and that got Blaine snickering once more.

Blaine patted his shoulder, and they headed out. The mall was packed as it usually was Friday after school. They were heading up the elevator, and once they reached the top, the one person Kurt was least expecting showed up: Dave Karofsky. He froze out of instinct, clutching the strap of his Marc Jacobs bag.

"Oh, look what we have here. Two prima ballerinas. What happened? Did you lose your tutu?" Dave was directing this insult at Kurt, who just completely shut down.

"Come on, Kurt." Blaine said, sounding angry. He gripped his hand, and began to walk away.

"That's right. Just run away, like a chicken." Dave said, taunting.

Blaine stopped in his tracks. Kurt looked at him. He looked really pissed off. Blaine let go of Kurt's hand, and stalked over to Karofsky. Kurt was alarmed once Blaine raised a fist at him. He came running to the scene. Karofsky caught the fist, and decked Blaine in the face instead, who recoiled back a few steps. If it weren't for Kurt holding him back, he would've dove right back into the fight. Dave, in the meantime, was being held back by a strange man.

"Don't make me call security!" The man threatened.

David broke away from him, and stormed off.

"Come on," Kurt ushered Blaine to the restroom where he used a cold paper towel as a temporary icepack. "You really scared me back there, you know, jumping into a fight like that."

"He just really, really pissed me off." Blaine mumbled. "I can't stand people like him, walking around like they're hot stuff, and hurting anybody they want, and not suffering any consequences for it. Those are the worst."

"I know, but you can't let him get under your skin like that. That's how he wants you to react."

"I don't understand how you're so calm about this. He's the one that hurt you so badly. He pushed you into lockers, he took your things, and he threatened to kill you. _To kill you,_ Kurt."

"I know. I was there." Kurt replied to which Blaine huffed. "Listen, Blaine, I'm flattered that you're so willing to jump to my defense. Just please, please never do that again. It scared the hell out of me, and who knows? Next time, you might have to suffer the consequences because of him, and you and I both know that getting into a fistfight with him won't be worth anything in the end." He dabbed Blaine's shiner with the paper towel, causing Blaine to wince again.

"You're right." Blaine replied after a short silence.

"Are you all right? Do you want to just go home and rest? Your eye looks like it really hurts."

"I'll be all right. Let's just stay here. I'd hate to go home just because of this. It'd be like he was controlling me or something."

"Then let's hit JC Penny. I hear they're having a Red Light sale and I don't want to miss it."

They went shopping, and it was loads of fun, like it usually was. Kurt did a strut in his clothes while Blaine made some goofy-looking faces that made Kurt clutch his stomach in laugher. After shopping, Blaine spotted one of those photo booths, and they took several pictures together.

After that, they went to the food court. "So how's your boyfriend doing?" Kurt asked. Blaine blinked, and Kurt was mentally slapping himself. Out of all the things he could've said, why did that come out of his mouth?

"Boyfriend?" Blaine echoed, clearly confused. Then he blushed. "Did David, by some chance, tell you about Philip?"

"No."

"Oh, good, because I was about to say…"

"Whose this Philip person and why haven't you told me about him?"

"OK, I've only ever told Wes and David this, but you know how people sometimes have imaginary friends?" Kurt nodded, and Blaine continued. "Well, I used to have an imaginary boyfriend named Philip." He laughed, and brought a hand to his red face. "It's so embarrassing. I used to sing to him, and flirt with him, and oh, my God, you must think that I'm a dork."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief, but he felt like he still needed clarification. "Are you sure you don't have a boyfriend?" He asked. "Because I…"

"Because you what?"

Kurt blushed. He could just lie to Blaine, and tell him that he heard about the curly-haired man from someone else. Like from, Wes or David, but it didn't feel right to lie to him about that. "When we were fighting, I went searching for you. I figured you'd be at the Lima Bean since it's in your daily ritual to go there around three thirty, and I saw you with someone else. This guy with a perm."

"Oh, you mean Jeremiah?" Blaine asked, and then shook his head. "No, no. We're just friends. We met at the community theatre when I was auditioning for the Christmas Spectacular, and he was auditioning too, and we got to talking, and exchanged numbers. He was just there because I was so upset about our fight and…" He licked his lips. "Uh, never mind. It's nothing. Like I told you, I was over exaggerating, and I was really upset."

"Right." Kurt replied, flatly, though he didn't persist in finding out what Blaine was about to say. He was just alleviated that Blaine didn't have a boyfriend.

"What about you?"

"Huh? What about me?"

"You got a boyfriend you're hiding from me?"

"Of course not. You're the only one I would want to be my boyfriend." Kurt stopped, realizing what he just said. His heart was beating too fast to be healthy, and Blaine was looking at him, all weird. This wasn't good. Kurt did it again, and he had promised himself that he wouldn't, especially after what happened with Finn and Sam. "I gotta go." He said, quickly, leaving his food behind.

Kurt scurried down the escalator, pushing past some people in the process with several pardons. It wasn't until he was almost out of the mall that he noticed Blaine following behind him. He was about to step onto the street when he heard Blaine shout his name, and pull him back. It wasn't until he was pulled back that he saw a car pass by. He panted, and heard Blaine pant too.

"Did you mean what you said?" Blaine asked. "Do you really want to be my boyfriend?"

"Yes. To be honest, I've wanted to be your boyfriend since day one." Kurt replied, and then flushed at his own response. "But, um, if you don't…what I mean to say is…" The next thing he knew, Blaine had pulled him up against his chest. "Blaine?"

"I want to be your boyfriend, too." Blaine murmured against his neck, his hot breath tingling against his skin.

Due to Finn's football injury, he had to take off some time at school. Rachel eagerly offered to bring him back homework assignments as well as any notes that he missed. She was over doing this when Kurt returned home from his daily trip to the Lima Bean with Blaine. They had been boyfriends for over a week now, and it was amazing. Granted, they still haven't kissed yet, but that was all right. It was nice knowing that Blaine felt the same.

"Greetings, family, I'm home!" Kurt announced, jovially.

"Hey there, sweetie." Carole greeted back. "How was your date?"

"It was magical, thank you, Carole. So what's for dinner tonight?" He asked.

Carole winced a bit, sheepishly. "I have the night shift, so it's pretty much a free-for-all."

"All right." Kurt clapped his hands together. "No problem. I'm going to make a nice, healthy dinner. Perhaps some chicken parmesan…" It'd be a good change from the Hot Pockets that Finn ate practically everyday.

"Rachel's over so you'll have to make something that isn't made of meat." Carole informed.

"No problem." Kurt said.

"I'll see you later, sweetie." Carole gave him a kiss on the forehead, and then left.

Kurt went upstairs to go check up on Finn, and go see Rachel. He let out a groan of disgust as he moved in front of the door. He loved them, but it was weird to see them making out. That succeeded in making them break apart, flushed.

"Kurt, hi." Rachel greeted, sheepishly, playing with her hair. "I just came to check up on your brother because I love him so deeply. We got to talking about some emotional stuff, like how I thought he cracked his spine and ended up in a coma, and that led into us…"

Finn held up a hand. "I think he gets it."

"So, Carole and dad are gonna be out this evening. So that leaves me up to dinner duties. For Finn, I was thinking of making chicken parmesan."

"Awesome." Finn approved, smiling.

"And for Rachel, I was thinking of a mushroom and white bean cassoulet."

"That sounds delicious, Kurt. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Rachel."

"Wait, wait. What's a cassblet?"

"It's cassoulet. It's French for casserole."

"Oh, ok. Cool. You're so good at that French stuff."

Kurt smiled. "So do you need anything in the meantime?"

"Yeah, could you get me another soda?" Finn asked. "And maybe clean those up?"

Kurt was incredulous. He already had a row of empty Pepsi cans on the nightstand next to his bed. He and Rachel grabbed some. "Any more soda, and you'll have a bubbly butt." Kurt retorted, and Finn laughed in reply as he and Rachel left the room.

"So I trust that everything is going well with Finn?" Kurt asked as they went outside to toss the cans into the recycle bin.

"Oh, everything is going very well." Rachel replied, beaming. "It's so nice to be able to talk with him again without any retaliation or jealousy on anyone's part."

"Glad to hear it."

"So, how about you and Blaine?"

"We're doing great."

"That's good. Have you kissed yet?"

"…No."

Rachel looked incredulous. "You haven't kissed yet? Really? Why not?"

Kurt was caught off guard by her reaction. "Why are you making a big deal out of this? We haven't kissed yet because we couldn't find the right moment."

"A kiss is crucial in a relationship. If there's no kiss, then there's no chemistry." Rachel pointed out.

That made Kurt's insecurities bubble to the surface. What if Blaine was going out with him as a pity date? Ever since they first started going out, everything felt the same. There was no kissing going on because Kurt was too scared to initiate one in fear of kissing wrong. And Blaine wasn't helping that either.

* * *

"Kurt? Kurt!" Blaine loudly said, snapping Kurt out of his trance. He had been staring at Blaine's lips when he was talking, and to be caught in the act was embarrassing. He just hoped that Blaine didn't notice.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Kurt asked.

"All right, what's the matter? You're spacing out, and that's not like you." Blaine replied, worried. Kurt sighed. He knew that he didn't want Blaine to notice him staring at Blaine's lips. But how dense could Blaine be?

"Actually, there is something that I've been worrying about."

"What's that?"

"I…um, I've been wondering why we haven't…you know, kissed yet." Kurt confessed, his face heating up.

Blaine appeared to be flustered by the confession as well. He tucked a fist underneath his chin. "Well, uh, I've been meaning to bring that up." He looked at Kurt, dead on. The look made Kurt shiver. "Look, I know you haven't had the best experience with kissing, and I've never kissed anyone before. So I don't want to do it wrong."

"So…" Kurt drew the word out, not knowing how to respond to that, and willing his face to stop burning.

"Oh, I know!" Blaine responded, and whipped out his iPhone, and he began to type.

"What are you doing?"

"Hooking up ways to kiss."

Kurt's heart leaped in his chest, and it was like the breath was knocked out of him. The boy he loved wanted to kiss him. He didn't think that he'd be living in this moment that he deemed more suitable for anybody else but him. It was overwhelming. The thought had short-circuited his brain, making breathing properly nearly impossible. "I'll be right back." Kurt excused himself, heading straight to the bathroom.

He stood in front of the sink, leaning onto the marble. His heart was beating way too fast. It was like he'd have a coronary any second. Kurt took a paper towel, wet it, and dabbed his scorching face with it. Then he deposited the paper towel into the trash bin next to the door. A big smile spread across his face. This was what he wanted for so long, through all the jealousy what with Jeremiah and Rachel. Before he knew it, he was crying tears of joy. He returned to the mirror, and dabbed his face some more.

"Hey, are you all right in here?" Blaine asked with that teasing tone. Once Kurt turned around, Blaine's smile transformed into a concerned frown. "Kurt, what's the matter? Did I do something to upset you?" He asked, taking a few steps in Kurt's direction.

"No, of course not." Kurt reassured.

"Then why are you crying?" Blaine asked, running a hand down Kurt's face.

Kurt released a sob full of mirth. He put his hand over Blaine's. "Because…" He was thinking about confessing his life right there. But it didn't seem appropriate to confess his love for Blaine in a public restroom. So he settled with, "you make me happy."

Blaine breathed out a smile. "You make me happy too." He took Kurt's hand. "Now, come on. Your coffee's getting cold."

Later on, they headed back to Kurt's house. They were hanging out in Kurt's room. Kurt was sitting on the edge of his bed next to Blaine. He was eagerly flipping through the latest issue of Vogue in pure excitement, pointing out every little thing about the models.

All of a sudden, Blaine took the magazine from Kurt, and set it on the nightstand. Kurt sat there with his eyebrows furrowed, confounded as to what Blaine was doing. Blaine scooted over on the bed, making it bounce a bit before he settled to the side of Kurt. Literally against his hip close. His lungs, his heart, every part of his body malfunctioned in some way as Blaine stared into his eyes. He reached up to cup Kurt's face. This, in turn, made Kurt's breath hitch. Blaine leaned forward, tilting his head to the side, and pressing his lips against Kurt's. For a moment, Kurt didn't react, but when that moment passed, he began kissing back. The kiss was slow, sweet, and gentle; everything Kurt ever wanted in a kiss. This was a kiss that blew all of his expectations out of the water. He had expected it to be magical just like everybody else, but this was the magic he imagined magnified.

The kiss lasted for a minute or so before Blaine pulled away, breathing in deeply. Looking at Blaine, Kurt could tell. Blaine was just out of breath as he was, and he was feeling that intense feeling too.

"Well," Blaine laughed a breathy laugh, and tucked a fist underneath his chin.

"Well," Kurt mimicked, and received a laugh.

"Kurt, I uh…I really want to kiss you some more." Blaine said, and that made Kurt's stomach jitter.

"So what are you waiting for?" Kurt teased, grinning.

Blaine chuckled a bit before leaning in to claim Kurt's lips once more. The kiss was just as thrilling as the first. The kiss had that spark that was often referred to in stories, and Kurt understood the deep meaning behind that spark. It was the love that burned as perpetually as the sun itself that made the wait that much more worth it.

"Let me take you out tonight." Blaine whispered against Kurt's wet and swollen lips.

"How could I say no to such an assertive demand?" Kurt asked, making Blaine laugh again.

They went out to Breadstix where they ate and discussed mutual topics. At the end of the meal, Blaine dismissed himself from the table. Kurt figured that he was going to use the restroom, but he was wrong. Blaine was talking to the manager, who nodded. In turn, Blaine patted him on the shoulder, and walked off. Kurt blinked, wondering what was going on when he saw Blaine take the stage, and grab the microphone.

He tapped it a bit, shifting from one foot to the other, nervously. This grabbed the attention of the other customers. "Oh, ok, it works all right. Um, hey there, fellow Breadstix patrons. I hope you are all having a nice afternoon just like I am. Tonight, I have prepared a number for my boyfriend, and I would like to ask my fellow Warblers to join me up on stage to serenade him." The Warblers came up on the stage, and lined up accordingly. Then he flashed a smile at Kurt. "This one is for you, Kurt."

Kurt's face was hot and hurting, but he didn't mind that in the least. Blaine was going to sing him a song. It was his dream come true. Blaine began singing the vocals to the Backstreet Boy's number _It's Gotta Be You._ Kurt laughed in pure joy. The number was beautifully composed by the Warblers, and Blaine's voice was as impeccable and dreamy as ever.

By the end of the song, Blaine had dragged Kurt out of his seat to dance with him, and the patrons were applauding them.

Blaine was nice enough to drive him home afterwards. He walked Kurt to his door. "I had such a great time, and what you did for me was just…very wonderful of you." Kurt smiled, holding onto Blaine's hands. "Thank you."

"No, Kurt, thank you." Blaine countered, affectionately, squeezing his hands. "For waiting for me to come to my senses. I know it's been hard for you what with Jeremiah and then Rachel. I still can't believe that I did that to you. I kinda feel the urge to hop into a time machine sometimes just to go and beat the crap out of myself."

"Stop that, Blaine." Kurt urged. "It doesn't matter. What matters to me the most right now is getting a good night kiss from my boyfriend."

Blaine complied with the utmost pleasure.

That night, Kurt went back into his scrapbook, and added a page with the pictures that one of the Dalton boys took of them that night. He added a page, applying all of the decorations that suited the pictures the best. He smiled. Each of these pictures were a treasure that he wanted to keep in his heart forever. Not only that, but he wanted more pictures like these with Blaine.

He wasn't afraid to add the words _The boy I love_ in English onto the page, right smack in the center.


End file.
